Media coverage of the debt ceiling frequently claims that raising the limit without simultaneous spending cuts would give President Obama a "blank check," repeating a pattern of promoting this false narrative -- or failing to correct it -- that occurred during the unprecedented brinkmanship of 2011. The phrase implies that the debt ceiling governs additional spending desired by the White House, when in fact it is a restriction on the executive branch's ability to borrow money to pay for spending measures already enacted by Congress.

NPR's Scott Horsley falsely claimed that, according to a Pew poll, "only a little over a third" of "Catholics who attend Mass weekly" thought it was wrong for Notre Dame to "honor" President Obama. In fact, the Pew poll found that 37 percent of "White non-Hispanic Catholics" who attend Mass weekly thought that; Pew did not present results for all Catholics who attend Mass weekly.

NPR and CNN reported that Sen. John McCain mocked Sen. Barack Obama for holding fundraisers in Beverly Hills that were expected to raise several million dollars, but neither report noted that McCain himself reportedly attended a fundraiser in Miami earlier in the week that raised several million dollars and held a fundraiser last month in Beverly Hills attended by celebrities.

NPR's Scott Horsley reported on the attacks on Sen. Barack Obama's national security credentials by Sen. John McCain's campaign, including allies such as former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and played an audio clip of McCain saying, "And I think Mayor Giuliani, who is very well qualified on this issue, having been mayor of New York City at an incredible time in American history, has put it very well." However, Horsley did not note that McCain had previously said that "having been mayor of New York City" on 9-11 did not constitute foreign policy or national security experience.